Newitz and Wray write: “When we talk about white trash, we’re discussing a discourse which often confuses cultural icons and material realities, and in effect helps to establish and maintain a complex set of moral, cultural, social, economic, and political boundaries. To interrogate this discourse, we need to ask where its representations and stereotypes come from, what motivates them, how they are produced and taken up, and by whom.” (59)
Discuss this passage in relation to the following Saturday Night Live skit from 2005, titled “Appalachian Emergency Room”:
March 4, 2019 at 1:38 pm
The identity of “white trash” is rooted in low economic status, but it is the appearance, tastes, geographic location and education of the individuals, who are labeled as such, that truly dictates the “white trash” identity. As a result of their low economic status, these communities have developed a distinct culture that is far different than the stereotypical “white” lifestyle we all imagine as the working class or middleclass family with the white picket fence. Hence, the necessary addition of the word trash, because they may be white, but their “otherness” from the majority of the white community must be made clear. It is also interesting to note the role of the rural landscape in the identity of “white trash”. Rural settings are not portrayed as pastoral, rather, as places were people do not have access to a strong job economy or high-quality education. Moreover, the lack of education becomes synonymous with laziness. This is exemplified by “Percy and Nettie Bodance” in the early portion of the SNL video. Nettie says, “Wheel chairs is better than lawn chairs because they got wheel on ‘em”, which exemplifies the laziness framing discussed by Kendall, as well as lack of education conveyed by incorrect grammar. Furthermore, Percy was electrocuted while drilling a hole in an electrical socket and stepping in a baby pool. Both details comment on lack of education and the tastes of the “white trash” identity. The confluence of education, location, race and economic status all contribute to the “white trash” identity, and this is clearly exemplified by the characters in this skit. The stereotypes of “white trash” are used to draw a clear boundary between white and white trash. This boundary serves to protect the popular narrative of the white middle class. Newitz and Wray state, “If you are white, calling someone ‘white’ is hardly an insult. But calling someone “white trash” is both a racist and classist insult”. This quote demonstrates the intersectionality of race and class, and the distinctions presented within a race to enforce otherness of one particular group.
March 4, 2019 at 11:43 am
Newitz and Wray’s piece “What Is White Trash” brings up a compelling way to consider the roots of the derogatory social categorization that is white trash. To briefly summarize, Newitz and Wray see White trash as a social alienation of America’s poorest white citizens. White trash also has associations with education, physical appearance, behavior or etiquette, and social habits (drinking/drug abuse); but the most crucial characterization is poverty. Newitz and Wray believe white trash is a description used by white people of a higher socio-economic standing to distance themselves from the lowest standing citizens of their race or culture. White Trash has no distinct boundaries, and who is classified as white class is surely subjective, and often time popular culture plays a significant role in portraying who in this country is to be considered white trash. In the Saturday Night Live skit titled “Appalachian Emergency Room”, the scene portrays the people of Appalachia possessing many of the characteristics commonly associated with white trash. As the hospital employee reads out the patients names, each patient fits a similar build; poor, unkept, an uneducated vocabulary or way of speaking, and an extremely unintelligent accident that landed them in the emergency room. The people are also dressed in either dirty or ripped clothes, and do not seem to care much about their physical appearance. In just under 5 minutes, this skit is able to make fun of and depict all of the stereotypes that are commonly associated with white trash. Newitz and Wray write that in order to figure out who establishes the social makeup of white trash, “we need to ask where its representations and stereotypes come from”. To briefly answer this question, I would argue that the media plays a sure hand in evolving characteristics of white trash. The SNL skit posted above is a clear example of that, but another is example in pop-culture is the popular Netflix show titled Trailer Park Boys. This show is about three grown, white males who live in a trailer park, abuse alcohol daily, and make it their daily mission to cause havoc in the park. Some of the main reoccurring themes are: the main character Ricky’s constant wrong pronunciation of basic english words, Julian having a liquor drink in his hand in every scene, and Bubble’s excitement over the smallest, simple “luxuries”. With over 7 seasons on Netflix, this show is another example of how media representation surely plays a hand in the public perception of white trash.
March 3, 2019 at 4:11 pm
Newitz and Wray write a very eye-opening and compelling article regarding what “White Trash” is and the stereotypes associated with poor whites in America. Many middle and upper class white Americans want no association with the poor “White Trash” Americans because they don’t embody what it “really means to be white”. “White Trash” Americans are poor and by labeling them as “trash” it is a clear insult that paints being in poverty as a sin. In order to create this distinction there is a specific media portrayal of “White Trash” Americans, as is demonstrated in the Saturday Night Live skit, titled “Appalachian Emergency Room.” In this skit, “White Trash” people are portrayed as poor, unkempt, unintelligent and sometimes alcoholic or drug addicted. Each person or couple that enters the emergency room created some issue for themselves that has landed them there. In other words, it is their own fault that they have ended up in the ER on Christmas Eve, which I believe is a direct dig at “White Trash” people and how it is their own fault that they are in their current situation. (I am not saying that it is their own fault that they are in this situation, but that the skit seems to suggest this, which is in line with existing stereotypes.) Further, the skit shows the Appalachian people as dirty and disheveled. Each person that comes in is dressed in tattered clothes with their hair messy and uncleaned. They also portray these characters with a total lack of intelligence. When Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader’s characters come in they are clearly drunk and decided to throw darts at each other—since their target ring ended up on their roof. This decision leads to Sudeikis showing up in the ER with a dart in his head, which clearly occurred due to their stupidity. However, as dumb as their decision was, their clear lack of intellect is also on display when they first show up and lead the doctor to believe the issue is the dart in Hader’s fake hand, when in actuality there is a dart in Sudeikis’ head. Another dig the skit takes at “White Trash” is their drug dependency, when Amy Poehler’s son’s character asks her to steal the medical pad in order to get drugs. These are just two instances that the skit uses to portray “White Trash,” but both cases show the negative connotations associated with the term. Also, the skit uses humor in a way that I think emphasizes the “otherness” nature of “White Trash.” In other words, by laughing at these Appalachian people we are further saying that they are not like us and that their situation is so bad it is comedic.